Buenos Vecinos de Boquete January Family of the Month

Buenos Vecinos de Boquete · January 27, 2020

January 2020 Family of the Month Updates

Aida has been a Buenos Vecinos client for eight years. When we first met Aida her oldest granddaughter, Danila, was ten and her youngest great-granddaughter, Yorlenys, was three. There were also two other children in the house; a grandson, Davis and a great-granddaughter, Cyndel. Aida cared for these children by herself and has always been appreciative of the food support she receives from Buenos Vecinos.

In the ensuing years most of the children have moved away and Aida has developed health problems. She has joint pain and has trouble sleeping. Yorlenys is the remaining child at home and now she is caring for her grandmother instead of her grandmother taking care of her. Of course she still attends school during the day. You will see in the last photo Yorlenys when we met her and she was only three.

Aida was an exemplary caregiver of her charges. She was determined that they studied and did well in school. Danila has greatly benefitted from this expectation. When she finished elementary and it was time to go to high school, she received scholarships first to a Catholic boarding school and then because of her outstanding grades she had a full scholarship to a government boarding school that specializes in agriculture. She recently graduated from this school with a high school diploma. She excelled in both schools she attended and is eligible for a scholarship to study in the United States. Portugal or Mexico. Danila now has a wonderful opportunity for higher education because of the encouragement and support Aida gave her when she was younger.

There is another family that we have been delivering food to for a number of years. The father is disabled and there is one child left living at home. She recently graduated from high school. She has a full scholarship based on academic achievement and plans to attend university in David. Her father proudly told us today that his daughter is going to have a better life.

It has been inspiring watching these young people grow up and to see the value that has been placed on education for them. Even though Buenos Vecinos is strictly a food charity it is clear that we are in some small way supporting families who value education by providing help for their nutritional needs.

In the next two photos below you will see Aida’s family when we first met them and Yorlenys and Danila with Aida today. It is clear to see that hard work and caring for others shows on Aida’s face.

How to help?

If you would like to help our clients and the efforts of Buenos Vecinos de Boquete, we would appreciate your donation of any size. It is important for you to know that we are a small all-volunteer force with no administrative or overhead costs. Every dollar of your donation goes to the purchase or storage of food for our clients.
When you make that important decision to help feed the less fortunate in our community, you have truly become a “good neighbor”. When you donate $360 a year or $30 a month (about the cost of a daily latte), you will become a Coconut Foundation member as an acknowledgment of your concern and generosity.
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